Chapter 56: Kakuzu Collects His Bounty, Ōnoki Escalates, and Naraku Arrives at the Front
At the Iwa black market, Kakuzu pointed at his own bounty poster and said to the staff: "I want to claim the reward!"
The staff politely responded: "Do you have information on Kakuzu, or did you bring Kakuzu here tied up?"
Kakuzu said impatiently: "I am Kakuzu. If you want to know anything, just ask me directly! So give me my bounty already!"
The staff felt the idiot in front of him was here to cause trouble, so he asked one last polite question: "Then do you have any proof that you are Kakuzu?"
Do you have any proof that you are Kakuzu? Do you have any proof that you are Kakuzu? Do you have any proof that you are Kakuzu? The sentence echoed in Kakuzu's mind. He had lived so many years and this was the first time he encountered such rude and absurd questioning.
If Kakuzu had lived in modern society, he would know that "how do you prove you are you" or "how do you prove your dad is your dad" is a common question.
After thinking all day, Kakuzu pulled out the only thing that could prove his identity—"Earth Grudge Fear." Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear instantly wrapped around the staff's neck: "Now can you confirm my identity?"
The nearby black market guards wanted to deal with the troublemaker, but they were instantly sent flying by the Earth Grudge Fear from Kakuzu's other hand.
The staff no longer cared if it was real or fake—he hurriedly nodded. Afterward he carefully compared it with the bounty information. Appearance and clothing could be faked easily, but secret techniques were hard to imitate.
Especially since there seemed to be no second person in the entire ninja world who mastered "Earth Grudge Fear."
After handing Kakuzu 40 million ryō, the staff cautiously asked: "Then… will you come with me to Iwagakure later?"
While counting the money, Kakuzu glanced at the staff and said: "The bounty mission says 'capture alive and deliver to Iwa black market.' I'm already here at the black market. So my mission is complete. I never said I had to go to Iwagakure!"
Although Kakuzu loved money, he wasn't someone who would throw away his life for it. Moreover, he already had the money in hand.
The staff was afraid of being beaten to death by his boss later, so he gathered a bit of courage and asked: "Then how about you wait here for people from Iwagakure? You can answer some questions in the meantime… is that okay?"
Kakuzu, still counting money, said: "Fine! But finish asking before I finish counting, or I'm leaving! My time is very valuable!"
...
Ōnoki looked at the very mysterious man in front of him—his entire body covered except for the eyes, wearing a slashed Takigakure missing-nin headband.
Because the handover had been done by Hagane Ritsuo before, Ōnoki and the others had never seen Kakuzu in person. To Ōnoki, these bounty hunters were just wild dogs you could hire with money, so he didn't care much and usually left it to subordinates.
But this time the information was very important—not only had a large number of front-line troops died, but Wood Release had also appeared. So he decided to handle it personally.
Ōnoki asked directly: "Are you really Kakuzu?"
Kakuzu spoke word by word: "I am Kakuzu. If you have questions, ask quickly!"
Ōnoki was actually amused by Kakuzu's money-over-life attitude. He pressed down the subordinate who wanted to teach Kakuzu a lesson and said: "What exactly happened that night?"
Kakuzu replied without politeness: "I took the mission to kill Senju Nawaki, so that night I planned to kill Senju Nawaki alone. So I fought Senju Nawaki one-on-one! Speaking of which, your Iwa intelligence is really trash. A guy you call chūnin-level—I used Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, Water—all five natures to bombard him repeatedly, hitting him multiple times. But the armored Nawaki was like an unkillable monster, standing up again and again. I also discovered that the same ninjutsu seemed to have less and less effect on that armor! Later I started using two-attribute combination ninjutsu and still couldn't kill him. Your Iwa's Hagane Ritsuo couldn't even beat that chūnin Nawaki in close combat!
Such a strong armor, and you only put 20 million ryō on it—I think the bounty is way too low!
In the end, I used a Wind-Fire-Lightning triple-attribute combination ninjutsu to finally open a hole in that monster's stomach!"
Hearing this, everyone in Iwa—including Ōnoki—was shocked. If he wasn't lying, then the man in front of them was terrifyingly strong!
One must know that Dust Release is also a fusion of three chakra natures.
Also, whether it was Senju Nawaki or that armor's defense that was too terrifying— But it was probably the armor!
"Then that damned armor finally broke. Afterward I prepared to take the prey to exchange for the bounty, but at that moment the prey suddenly erupted with repulsive force that shook my hand away. And that armor, along with Senju Nawaki, began evolving or something—slowly turning into a giant dragon.
With the dragon's roars, countless wooden tendrils started chasing me. I barely managed to escape!"
After confirming Kakuzu had finished speaking, Ōnoki quickly used Dust Release. Kakuzu was caught off guard and a large chunk of his flesh was directly cut away.
The angry Kakuzu was about to attack Ōnoki when Ōnoki said: "I needed to test your strength to ensure you weren't lying! We can cooperate more in the future."
Kakuzu snorted coldly and stiffly agreed. He had indeed hidden a little information—for example, Hagane Ritsuo might have died under his ninjutsu.
Afterward Ōnoki hurriedly returned—not because he didn't want to attack Kakuzu again and ask more, but because he really didn't have very high confidence.
Back in the village, after thinking for a while, Ōnoki immediately ordered the truth of the Wood Dragon Battle to be leaked—and exaggerated the armor's role.
He also raised the bounty for capturing Uchiha Naraku alive to 400 million ryō.
Because Kage-level figures are generally not bountied, Naraku directly became the man with the highest bounty in the entire ninja world!
Finally, he urged the ninja world to act together against Konoha—otherwise, once Uchiha Naraku forges even more powerful weapons, everyone will die!
Meanwhile, Naraku—who had arrived at the front lines with Jiraiya and Tsunade—still had no idea he had become the bounty king.
He had reached the top of the entire ninja world's bounty board.
Naraku looked at Nawaki lying quietly on the hospital bed being treated by Tsunade, with Miya gazing at him lovingly beside him. Only then did he vaguely feel just how many death flags Nawaki had been carrying before.
Afterward Naraku also looked at Incursio beside him. With his Weapon Sovereignty passive, he sensed that Incursio had now undergone massive evolution—containing terrifying multi-layered powers inside.
Especially one powerful, domineering force that seemed to carry a hint of green life energy—Naraku knew that must be Wood Release power.
After trying for a while, Tsunade looked at Naraku expectantly, hoping Naraku could see if there was any good way to save Nawaki!
--------------------------
Support us on Patreon and gain access to 100 chapters in advance!
patreon.com/inkshield
Special Offer: Badass Tier – 20% OFF
Use code: STAR20